Phone-Based Postpartum Continuing Care for Smoking Cessation (PPCC)

The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government.
Read our disclaimer for details.

Smoking is a leading cause of death and other negative health outcomes. While a high percentage of women quit smoking during pregnancy, the majority relapse in the first 6 months postpartum. We propose developing and pilot testing a phone-based postpartum continuing care (PPCC) protocol based on existing evidence-based approaches to increase smoking cessation, reduce relapse, increase early re-intervention, and reduce infant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the postpartum period.

The large majority of women who quit smoking during pregnancy relapse in the first six months postpartum, highlighting a need for effective postpartum continuing care that supports women through the challenging postpartum period when stress is high and motivation to stay quit may decline. Existing relapse prevention interventions (typically delivered during pregnancy) have been found to be of little benefit during the postpartum period, suggesting the need for a more formal continuing care approach. Phone-based protocols for smoking cessation have been widely disseminated and effective because they address the need for flexible access, but are passive and not typically utilized by women in the postpartum period.

The proposed pilot study will develop and test a Phone-based Postpartum Continuing Care (PPCC) model that draws from existing evidence-based protocols--the 5 A's and Recovery Management Checkups (RMC)-- shown to be effective with other populations. The experimental PPCC will reinforce the importance of abstinence, relapse prevention, and reduced smoking through proactive re-intervention (i.e., RMC) with the 5 A's at times when postpartum women are more likely to relapse, and provide education and monitoring of the infant's direct and indirect exposure to nicotine through breastfeeding and secondhand smoke. We will evaluate PPCC's effectiveness relative to a passive referral to a 24/7 hotline, which is current standard care.

Approximately one hundred thirty women in their first or second trimester of pregnancy who were nicotine-dependent in the past year, currently smoke, or quit within the past 90 days will be recruited at their first prenatal appointment at the Maryland Women's Center (MWC) in Baltimore, Maryland. All women will receive the clinic's standard of care for smoking cessation--the 5 A's --during pregnancy from their physician. Half will be randomly assigned to an experimental group getting PPCC for 6 months postpartum and half to a control group receiving only a referral to a passive 24/7 state quit line postpartum. It is expected that in the 6 months following childbirth women in the experimental PPCC (relative to those in the control group) will: a) smoke fewer cigarettes, b) smoke fewer days, c) go longer before postpartum relapse, d) have less time between relapse and talking to a health professional about smoking, e) have less time between relapse and resumption of abstinence , f) smoke fewer times while breastfeeding, g) smoke fewer times while in the same room as the infant, and h) reduce their infant's cotinine levels.

The aims of this pilot project are to develop PPCC from existing evidence-based approaches, demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the PPCC intervention with at least 80% compliance and at least 80% follow-up at each wave, and evaluate the effect size associated with receiving standard care vs. standard care + PPCC in order to understand the promise of and appropriate power required for a larger clinical trial.

Standard care for smokers during pregnancy and referral to 24/7 quitline postpartum (passive)

Behavioral: Standard care

All women will receive the standard of care approach (5 A's and referral to a 24/7 quit line postpartum) from MWC during pregnancy. The 5 A's brief intervention was modified by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for use with pregnant women and is recommended to help pregnant women quit smoking. It includes the following steps: Ask about tobacco use, Advise to quit, Assess willingness to make a quit attempt, Assist in quit attempt, and Arrange follow-up.

PPCC Counselors will make initial contact with participants in the experimental group at 36 weeks gestation (i.e., one week prior to full-term), will call again within one week after the baby's birth, and eight additional times over the course of the first six months postpartum. The PPCC protocol will be developed based on the 5 A's (standard of care during pregnancy) and the Recovery Management Checkup model where relapse is expected and efforts are made to take a more proactive approach to identify women who are having cravings or have relapsed and re-intervene with them as soon as possible to assist them in regaining smoking abstinence. Women in the experimental group will also have the option of calling the PPCC line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Other Name: PPCC

Behavioral: Standard care

All women will receive the standard of care approach (5 A's and referral to a 24/7 quit line postpartum) from MWC during pregnancy. The 5 A's brief intervention was modified by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for use with pregnant women and is recommended to help pregnant women quit smoking. It includes the following steps: Ask about tobacco use, Advise to quit, Assess willingness to make a quit attempt, Assist in quit attempt, and Arrange follow-up.

Infant urine was collected at 6 months postpartum using the "cotton roll" method of urine collection. Cotinine was measured with NicCheck I Test Strips that determine the urinary concentration of nicotine and its metabolites based on a colorimetric reaction. The test strip is dipped into participant's urine and changes color (varying shades of pink) in the presence of cotinine. Cotinine level is determined by matching the test strip with a color chart provided by the manufacturer. The intensity of color on the strip at the end of 15 minutes may be compared to those on the color chart, to differentiate between "low" (score 1-6) versus "high" (score 7-14) nicotine consumption. Absence of a color is considered a negative result (score 0). Based on comparison with gas chromatography urine cotinine values, individuals with cotinine values of 200 ng/mL and above are classified as smokers.

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

first or second trimester of pregnancy

age 18 or older

self-reported tobacco use in the past 90 days or nicotine-dependence in the past year